It's both International Women’s Day in March and also Women’s History Month.
The University of Central Lancashire (UCLan)’s staff and students have come together to celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD), uniting for a picture on the Preston Campus’ University Square, outside the new Student Centre building. People from all over the University posed for the picture in the ‘embrace’ pose, which is linked to this year IWD’s theme of #EmbraceEquity.
In addition to marking International Women’s Day, UCLan is proud to present a wide range of community events to celebrate Women’s History Month, which runs throughout March.
The events include an exhibition at the University’s new Student Centre, open to the public between 6-10 March, called ‘Silenced by history: Herstory’. It’s a collaborative student project, giving visibility to the stories of women across the Globe who have been silenced and forgotten by history. The project is led by UCLan’s Maria Dolores Iglesias Mora from the School of Humanities, Language & Global Studies.
Leona Trimble, Interim Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, said: "At UCLan, we recognise that our diversity is our strength, and we're committed to ensuring that equality, diversity, and inclusion are part of everything we do. That means ensuring everybody is treated equally and feels as though they belong within the University. I'm really pleased to see that so many people turned out to support women today, and am looking forward to the events running throughout March to further mark the contribution of women and their achievements throughout history."
"At UCLan, we recognise that our diversity is our strength, and we're committed to ensuring that equality, diversity, and inclusion are part of everything we do."
— Leona Trimble, Interim Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
Elsewhere, there’s a Qigong (pronounced Chi-gong) session being held in the Sir Tom Finney Sports Centre on 15 March. Qigong is a mind-body exercise form that uses meditation, breathing, and movement to increase energy and enable the body to heal itself. The exercise and healing techniques used were developed in ancient China and Tibet. It is practiced for a variety of reasons and has countless health-related benefits. The session will encourage the integration of posture, movement, breathing technique, self-massage, sound and focused intent to improve participants’ well-being. The session, which is for women only, will run between 1-2pm.
Continuing with the theme of Chinese traditions, there’s also a Chinese tea-tasting session, open to all, where people will get the chance to familiarise themselves with different types of teas, learn how they’re made and brewed, and sample teas from different regions with diverse flavours. The tea tasting will be held between 1 and 2pm on 29 March.
We're also welcoming the community to join us for a fascinating female-focused talk. ‘Pride of Preston: Dick, Kerr Ladies F.C.’, by Gail Newsham, author and historian for the Dick, Kerr Ladies football club, who will tell the story of how, after the Football Association effectively banned women from playing in 1921, the Dick, Kerr Ladies defied the ban and set the football world alight in the 1920s. It's an inspiring story of ordinary Lancashire Lassies at their very best.
We hope you'll come and join us to celebrate women from around the world.
